My (Almost) Vegetarian Life

Hello everyone. It’s been a few weeks! I’ve had some computer problems and a lot of my content disappeared. Grrrr! All that work gone 😦

A QUICK RECAP

I used to be a huge meat lover. I was raised in an era where meat and potatoes was the dinner norm and snacks were sugary and sweet. Ice-cream was my favourite dessert and I would eat a huge bowl of it every night. Becoming a (almost) vegetarian started as a way to save money – eating meat every night was becoming too expensive for my budget. So I started to incorporated 3 or 4 meatless meals a week into my dinner menu and having smoothies for breakfast every morning. Before long I was feeling a lot more energetic, and the sebhorreic dermatitis that showed up on my face a year ago, started to disappear. I am also saving approximately $200 a month on groceries!

Intrigued by this transformation, I wanted to learn more. I watched a few documentaries where the health benefits of a plant-based diet really appealed to me. The first attraction was weight loss, but I soon learned that diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, skin ailments and a long list of of other health problems could be eliminated by switching to a plant-based diet. I was also horrified by the way they treat animals destined for our dinner table. It was horrible and I didn’t want to be a part of that. I also learned that sugar plays an enormous part in keeping us unhealthy – it’s in everything and it’s scary how unhealthy it is.

We now eat 5 or 6 plant-based meals a week and I’d love to share my journey with you.

MY JOURNEY

It’s been about 2 months that I started my plant-based journey seriously. I’ve been having a smoothie for breakfast every day comprising bananas, strawberries, various other berries, spinach, oatmeal, chia seeds, apple juice or orange juice and water. Just by making that simple change has increase my energy and decreased my flu symptoms – a huge deal for me It also keeps me full until lunch time. Lunch usually consists of last night’s leftovers or a salad.

WEIGHT LOSS & EXERCISE

To date, I’ve lost about 5 lbs. I know it doesn’t sound like very much, but I had to stop exercising for a couple of weeks due to the fact that I slipped on my wet deck and bruised my back! Buuut, I will be back to exercising as soon as I sign up at the gym and aquatic centre in town.

GROWING OUR OWN FOOD

Before we moved to this cottage on the Sunshine Coase, we grew a few of our own herbs and vegetables in containers on the patio of our townhouse – tomatoes, beans, lettuce and broccoli. But now that we have more land, we intend to grow a lot more. I’m not an experienced gardener, so will need all the help I can get.

RECIPES & RESOURCES

To help me out with cooking plant-based meals, I refer to the meatless meal section in a a recipe book I’ve had for quite a few years now – The Looney Spoons Collection by Jane & Greta Podleski. All their recipes are amazing. We also bought a vegetarian book called Thug Kitchen, and loved it so much, we bought another of their recipes books – Thug Kitchen 101. If you don’t like offensive language, this book is not for you. I also utilize two food blogs I just love – The Mediterranean Dish and Skinny Taste. There are also lots of great vegetarian meal ideas on Pinterest.

Here’s my meal plan for next week:

Monday: Tortas – Thug Kitchen. These are very messy to eat, but absolutely delicious.

Tuesday: Italian Soup with Meatballs – Looney Spoons Collection (you can substitute the meatballs with vege balls – the soup will be just as delicious).

Wednesday: Pasta Piselli – Thug Kitchen. This recipe sounded little weird, so of course I had to try it. The result is, as promised, very fast and easy when you’re starving and considering take-out. It’s nothing you’re going to make for guests when you have time (unless you’re a lazy friend), but the flavor is a little earthy, a little bitter in a nice way. We added mushrooms and corn to ours.

Thursday: Pesto Pizza – Looney Spoons Collection. This pizza is really delicious – very juicy and piled high with a variety of vegetables. I buy flatbread instead of pizza shells.

Sunday: Zucchini Rollatini – Skinny Taste. This cheesy dish is a delicious, veggie-loaded dish! Made with strips of grilled zucchini stuffed with a basil-cheese filling, then rolled and topped with marinara, mozzarella and baked in the oven until the cheese is hot and melted.